The short answer
Yes, a copy is worth having: if your passport is lost or stolen abroad, a copy of the photo page makes reporting it and getting an emergency travel document much quicker. But keep it somewhere locked, not in your camera roll, which syncs to the cloud and is the first thing anyone sees on an unlocked phone. A copy is not a valid travel document, so you can't fly or cross a border with it.
What a passport copy is good for
A copy of your passport's photo page doesn't replace the passport. Nobody will let you board a plane or cross a border with it. What it does is make the worst case much easier:
- Reporting a lost or stolen passport to the police and your embassy, who will ask for the number, issue date and expiry date.
- Applying for an emergency travel document, which is faster when you can show the details of the passport you lost.
- Filling in forms such as hotel registrations, ferry bookings and travel authorisations, without taking the passport out of the safe.
Government travel advice in several countries suggests carrying a copy separately from your passport and leaving one with someone at home.
Where not to keep it
- Your camera roll. Photos sync to cloud accounts, appear in shared albums and "memories", and are visible to anyone who borrows your unlocked phone to look at a picture.
- Your email. Sending a scan to yourself puts a copy of your identity document in your inbox, and in the sent folder, indefinitely.
- A shared family folder or trip app. Bookings are fine to share. Identity documents aren't.
- Messaging apps, where copies spread to every device the chat is on.
Where to keep it instead
- Somewhere locked on your phone
A place that needs Face ID, a fingerprint or your passcode to open, separate from your photos: a locked note, a password manager, or an app that keeps documents behind your phone's own lock.
- A paper copy, apart from the passport
In a different bag or a different pocket. If the bag with the passport goes, the copy doesn't.
- With someone at home
A trusted person who can send you the details if your phone and passport go missing together.
What to copy
- The photo page of every passport in the family, clearly legible.
- Any visa page or electronic travel authorisation confirmation.
- Your travel insurance policy number and its 24-hour emergency line.
- Your driving licence, front and back, if you'll hire a car.
If your passport is lost or stolen abroad
- Report it to the local police
Get a written report or reference number; insurers and embassies usually want it.
- Contact your embassy or consulate
Your government's travel advice site explains how to apply for an emergency travel document. Your copy's details speed this up.
- Report it to your passport office
So it's cancelled and can't be used by someone else.
- Call your insurer
They may cover the cost of the emergency document and any changed travel.
Making copies is a good moment to check each passport's expiry date against the trip. Some countries want six months left after you arrive. See the six-month passport rule.
Questions people ask
Is it safe to keep a photo of my passport on my phone?
It's safe if it's stored somewhere locked, such as a locked note, a password manager or an app behind your phone's Face ID or passcode. It isn't a good idea in your camera roll, which syncs to the cloud and is visible to anyone using your unlocked phone.
Can I travel with a copy of my passport?
No. A copy isn't a valid travel document, so you can't board a flight or cross a border with it. It helps you report a lost passport and get an emergency travel document quickly.
Should I carry a photocopy of my passport when travelling?
Yes, kept separately from the passport itself, along with a digital copy somewhere locked on your phone. Leave another copy with someone at home.
What should I do if I lose my passport abroad?
Report it to the local police, contact your embassy or consulate about an emergency travel document, report it to your passport office so it's cancelled, and call your travel insurer.
